Evolution of Cinema

The Evolution of Filmmaking

• By 1901, motion pictures transitioned from one-scene, studio films to multiple-scene narratives filmed outdoors.
• The art aspect of filmmaking was born due to these advances.

The Collaborative Art of Filmmaking

• Filmmaking involves entire teams of artists, writers, and production experts, supported by technicians.
• The film director envisions the final effect of the film on its viewers, visually, mentally, and emotionally.
• The director works with ideas, images, sounds, and other effects to create a unique piece of art.

Film Directing

• The director conceptualizes the scenes, directs the acting, supervises the cinematography, and finally the editing and sound dubbing.

Allied Arts of Filmmaking

• Acting for film emerged as a distinct art form, requiring actors to express themselves without exaggerated facial expressions and gestures.
• With the addition of sound in the 1930s, actors had to learn to deliver their lines naturally and believably.
• Cinematography, or the art of film camera work, captures the director's vision of each scene through camera placement and movement, lighting, and other special techniques.
• Film editing is the art of selecting precise sections of film, then sequencing and joining them to achieve the director's desired visual and emotional effect.
• Sound editing was also developed, as films began to include more ambitious effects beyond dialogue and background music.
• Production/set design recreates the director's mental image of each scene through location, scenery, sets, lighting, costumes, and props.

Film as a Medium

• Film, or cinema, brought another dimension into play—that of moving images.
• The possibilities of this medium created a new art form that was to become a powerful social and economic force, and a legacy of the 20th century to the world.

The Influence of Technology on Cinema

• Cinema, as a modern art, has been greatly influenced by technology.
• The transition from still photography to film was made possible by the invention of celluloid strip film.
• The need to view moving images led to the rise of the Kinetoscope, a peepshow cabinet with an eyehole through which early "movies" could be viewed one person at a time.
• European and American inventors provided one technological advancement after another, including the development of the "cinematographe," a handcranked camera, printer, and projector all in one.